Clothes-pressing apparatus.



E. A. HERB.

CLOTHES PRESSING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-20, I9I5.

1,215,655. Patented Fe b.13,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- awum m, E 2652775 .H-67'7Z E. AI HERB.

CLOTHES PRESSING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-20,19I5.

1,21 5,655 Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- Wm, 1087 2 73 .zirr'.

EDWARD AUSTIN HERB, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CLOTHES-PRESSING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Application filed September 20, 1915. Serial No. 51,619.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EDWARD AUsnN HERB, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a newand useful Improvement in Clothes- Pressing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to clothes press ing apparatus, and especially to means for pressing trousers.

One object of the present invention is to provide a portable trousers press which is simple in construction and light in weight, adapting it for use in private homes, and to be carried by traveling men in a trunk or suitcase, and used for pressing trousers in a very few minutes. Another object is to produce a pressing device for trousers which will not leave a clearly defined line at the ends of the press, as has been the case in prior devices of this kind.

A further object is to provide -a press which will efl'ectlvely form the creases in the trousers without exerting undue pressure uponthe seams. It is also my aim to prevent the formation of double creases, which usually results when the crease of one leg of the trousers is not placed directly over the crease in the other leg. Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

The invention will be first hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of this specification, and then more specifically defined in the claims at the end of the description.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout-the several views:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a trousers press constructed substantially in accordance with my present invention, the two members of the press being shown clamped together as when a therein,

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the press as shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the press on a larger scale,

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line IV- V of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a detailed view of'one of the guiding lugs, showing how it is fastened to the bottom member of the press for guiding the pair of trousers is being pressed upper member thereof into proper position on said bottom member,

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of press having itsupper member hinged at one edge to its bottom member, the press being shown open, as when a pair of trousers is to be placed therein, and

Figs. 7 and 8 ar'e'detailed views of separate bottom and top members of the press constructed so as to be folded into a small enough compass for placing in a suitcase.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive,

of the drawings, the press comprises a bottom member 1 and a top member 2, both preferably tapered slightly to generally conform to the shape of a pan of trousers. The bottom member comprises a thin plate 3 of aluminum or other suitable light but rigid metal with its edges turned over at 4: to form reinforcing beads, and its longitudinal central portion provided with a rib 5 for reinforcing the thin metal plate. To. provide for the extra folds of material at the seams, the central portion of the plate 3 at either side of the rib 5 is depressed, as at 6,

forming a'shallow' groove or longitudinal recess. If material is used for the members 1 and 2 whichdoes not require stiffening the rib 5 may be dispensed wlth and merely a groove or depression used to receive the extra thickness of the trousers at the seam. The plate 3 is perforated, the perforations 7 being small and laced quite near together over its entire surf dce. A piece of canvas or other suitable textile fabric 8 is stretched over the inner face of the plate 3 and secured at its edges to the beads 4 by means of filler strips 4*, Figs. 3, 4: and 5, which also helps to stiffen the thin metal plate.

' The top member 2 also has a thin plate 9 clamping piece 12 on the bottom member. The curved or outwardly turned portion at this narrower end of said top member is shown at 11. The plate 9 of the top member has a central rib 13 with depressed portions 14 at either side thereof, similar to the rib 5 and depressed portions 6 of the plate 3. The plate 9 of the top member also has its edges turned at 15 to form reinforcing beads like the beads 4 on the plate 8, and said plate 9 is covered on its inner face with canvas 16 the edges of which are secured to the beads 15 by filler strips 4.

In pressing trousers it is necessary to extend the creases well above the crotch and to do this effectively the wider end of member 2 should be formed with an open portion defined by the curved outwardly flared edge 10, Figs. 1, 6 and 8. By this means the crumpling of the cloth about the hip, crotch and pockets is avoided. This construction need not be confined to one of the pressing members as either or both may be so constructed. V

The clamping strip 12 is hinged at 17 at one side of the narrower end of the bottom 'member 1 and extends entirely across that end of said member. This clamping strip is designed to hold the bottoms of the legs of the trousers, and to this end the free extremity of said strip is adapted to be secured by means of a bolt 18 and thumb nut 19. The bolt 18 is fastened to the bottom member 1 of the press and extends up through a suitable opening in the free end of the strip 12, the thumb nut 19 being fitted on the projecting end of the bolt and serving to bind the strip 12 down upon the bottom member. The bolt 18 is preferably arranged on a lateral projection of the plate 3 so as not to interfere with the closing of the upper member 2 upon the lower member.

The wider end of the bottom member 1 v carries at either side a clamp 20 of suitable construction for grasping the upper portion of the trousers. In practice, the bottoms of the legs of the trousers are first secured by the clamping stri 12, after which the garment is stretched y grasping the upper portion thereof and pulling away from the clamping strip. When stretched to the desired degree, the clamps 20 are brought into use for retaining the garment in that conditiomwhile it is being pressed. It will be understood, of course, that this securing and stretching of the trousers is done before the top member 2 of the press is fastened down upon the bottom member 1 thereof.

The two members of the press are secured together by a plurality of clamps 21 secured at suitable intervals to each edge of the bottom member 1 and adapted to overlap and engage the edges of the upper member 2. To insure the edges of the upper member of the ress registerin properly with the edges of t e bottom mem er, guiding lugs 22 are fastened to the bottom member and project upward at the edges thereofto receive the upper member between them. After the garment has been stretched and secured to the bottom member of the press in the manner described, the upper member 2 is placed in position between the guiding lugs 22 and secured to the bottom member by means of the clamps 21. Before the press is used, however, the canvas linings 8 and 16 are moistened, and after the garment is secured in the press, the latter may be placed on a radiator or otherwise exposed to heat for evaporating the moisture in the canvas linings through the perforations 7 in the bottom member and similar perforations 23 in the upper member.

To avoid the formation of double creases in front, I provide a thin strip 24, preferably of aluminum, to be interposed between the two front creases. This strip 24: may be hinged at 25 to the bottom member of the press. Without this strip, it would be necessary to place the front creases exactly even with one another to prevent the formation of double creases. When this thin metal strip is placed between the two creases, the same care does not have to beexercised and time is accordingly saved, for the strip will prevent one crease from affecting the other.

If desired the upper member of the press may be hinged at one edge to' the bottom member, and clamps provided simply along the other edge, as illustrated in Fig. 6. In this case, the guiding lugs 22 are not required. Otherwise, the members of the.

press shown in Fig. 6 may be constructed exactly as described in connection with Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 shows the bottom member made in two pieces 1 and 1 hinged together at 26 so that it can be folded into compact form for carrying in a suitcase. Fig. 8 shows the upper member of the press similarly made in 'two sections 2 and 2 hinged together at 27 for the same purpose.

It is obvious that heating means may be mounted on the press instead of depending upon the heat from a radiator, or other external source, for evaporating the moisture in the canvas linings. An electric heater would perhaps be best suited for this purpose, the wires thereof being stretched across the two members of the press in any suitable manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A press for trousers, comprising upper and lower members each consisting of a thin metal plate reinforced along its longitudinal center by a rib formed therein and having a groove on the inside to receive a seam of the trousers, and means for clamping metal plate having its edge portions turned over to form reinforcing beads, and cloth linings for said metal plates secured to said beads.

3. A press for trousers, comprising upper and lower members one of which is longer than the other, the shorter member having one end concavely curved transversely and said curved end flaring away from the longer member for the purpose specified, and means for clamping the two members together.

4. A press for trousers, comprising upper and lower members, means on one end portion of one member for clamping the bottom of the garment thereto, clamps at the opposite edges of the other end portion of the same member for securing the upper end portion of the garment in a transversely stretched condition and the whole garment in a longitudinally stretched condition to said member before the other member of the press is secured thereto, and means for clamping the two members together for pressing the stretched garment.

5. A press for trousers comprising upper and lower members, the upper member being shorter than the lower member, means on one end of the lower member for clamping the bottoms of a pair of trousers, the upper member overlapping said clamping means and having its overlapping portion oii'set for that purpose, the connecting portion between the upper member and offset portion being curved away from the lower member for the purpose specified.

E. AUSTIN HERE; 

